Germantown Artist Jet Sets to London

In a quest for The Next Big Thing, artist Michelle Anne Izquierdo is packing up her paintings and heading to London.

Izquierdo, 24, of Germantown, was invited to attend Parallax Art Fair from Feb. 16 to Feb. 18.

“This is the biggest thing that I've ever done,” said Izquierdo, who leaves for London on Feb. 12, “to put myself out there and say, yeah, I'm going to hop on a plane and see where this takes me.”

For an emerging artist, the lure of attending an international art fair is powerful, a tempting alternative to sitting, waiting and hoping for people view your work in a gallery. Art fairs offer immediate access to buyers, gallery representatives and other artists.

More than 200 artists from across the globe are expected to attend Parallax, a spokeswoman for Parallax said in an email to Patch. The peices were curated by the event's founder, art historian Chris Barlow.

But usually it’s the art dealers who attend art fairs on behalf of the artists they represent. Parallax gives that role to individual artists. For the artist, cutting out the middle man could be seen as a plus. There are no commission fees on the work sold at the show, according to organizers. But there is also a drawback: having to cover some of the expenses typically picked up by a gallery or agent — the cost of display fees and travel.

Gallery representation versus going at it alone is something Izquierdo says she took into consideration going into Parallax. As with most emerging artists, Izquierdo says she’s still trying to find her groove and is learning more and more about the business side of the art world. 

The plan, she says, is to parlay the momentum from London into more local shows. She flies back to the states on Feb. 20.

Izquierdo, who has a degree in studio art from the University of Maryland, has exhibited in galleries before. Her paintings have sold for between $100 and $800.

By day, Izquierdo works at a commercial real estate firm in Rockville. When time allows, she's painting in a makeshift studio in her bedroom — she lives with her parents.

Mood has a lot to do with her creative process. Lately, a faddish intrigue with dance music has informed her color choices: large bright blocks with dark contrasts. Also, if it’s flammable, it’s destined for the canvas. She melts materials — crayons are the usual suspects — to build texture beneath layers of paint. 

The dream is to transition from working to support her passion to becoming a full-time professional artist.

"As long as I keep evolving and changing, so will my work," she said.